WWF-UK: NI seas highlighted in need of greater conservation
Access key details
This site uses the UK government standard access keys, as shown below:
S - Skip navigation1 - Home page
2 - What's new
3 - Site map
4 - Search
5 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
9 - Feedback form
0 - Access key details
Section navigation
How you can help
NI seas highlighted in need of greater conservation
A new WWF report, Marine Biodiversity Hotspots: Putting marine life on the UK map, identifies marine areas around the UK coastline which are in urgent need of our protection. In Northern Ireland these include Larne Lough, Strangford Lough and Rathlin Island.
The report was produced with WWF by the Marine Biological Association (MBA) to identify 'Marine Biodiversity Hotspots' in UK waters, and examine threats to these habitats. Hotspots were chosen for their diverse populations of wildlife and habitat richness that include representative, rare and threatened species. This is the first time hotspots have been identified at sea and in the UK.
Rathlin Island was chosen as a case study in the report because of its significant population of 143 sponge species (almost one third of all the sponge species found in the UK) and burrowing anemones. Recent surveys have discovered 15 new sponge species that are globally unique to Rathlin.
"Over half of Northern Ireland's wildlife lives in our seas and yet only four per cent is protected. With increasing pressures on our seas from a range of activities including fishing, shipping, dredging and energy generation, we need to ensure there is adequate planning and management of these activities. A robust Northern Ireland Marine Bill, as part of the UK Marine Act is necessary in order to better manage these pressures and meet these challenges," said Malachy Campbell, Policy Officer, WWF Northern Ireland.
"Identifying marine hotspots should help in the preparation of this new legislation as we need to have a national network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to preserve the richness and diversity of our seas and to restore sites wherever possible in this legislation. Some areas may also need to be Highly Protected Marine Reserves (HPMRs) and must be part of a new integrated marine planning system."
Other case studies identified in the report are Plymouth Sound in South Devon, The Blackwater Estuary in Essex, The Dogger Bank in the Southern North Sea and The Menai Straight in Wales. Some of the features identified in these locations include the rare fan mussels, cold water corals, the grey seal, fireworks anemone, saltmarshes and killer whale.
The UK government and the NI administration must ensure there is adequate legislation in the Marine Bill, and adequate investment in resources to protect our seas for future generations, not only for the intrinsic value of our marine wildlife, but for the goods, services and livelihoods that this wildlife provides.
Rathlin Island was chosen as a case study in the report because of its significant population of 143 sponge species (almost one third of all the sponge species found in the UK) and burrowing anemones. Recent surveys have discovered 15 new sponge species that are globally unique to Rathlin.
"Over half of Northern Ireland's wildlife lives in our seas and yet only four per cent is protected. With increasing pressures on our seas from a range of activities including fishing, shipping, dredging and energy generation, we need to ensure there is adequate planning and management of these activities. A robust Northern Ireland Marine Bill, as part of the UK Marine Act is necessary in order to better manage these pressures and meet these challenges," said Malachy Campbell, Policy Officer, WWF Northern Ireland.
"Identifying marine hotspots should help in the preparation of this new legislation as we need to have a national network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to preserve the richness and diversity of our seas and to restore sites wherever possible in this legislation. Some areas may also need to be Highly Protected Marine Reserves (HPMRs) and must be part of a new integrated marine planning system."
Other case studies identified in the report are Plymouth Sound in South Devon, The Blackwater Estuary in Essex, The Dogger Bank in the Southern North Sea and The Menai Straight in Wales. Some of the features identified in these locations include the rare fan mussels, cold water corals, the grey seal, fireworks anemone, saltmarshes and killer whale.
The UK government and the NI administration must ensure there is adequate legislation in the Marine Bill, and adequate investment in resources to protect our seas for future generations, not only for the intrinsic value of our marine wildlife, but for the goods, services and livelihoods that this wildlife provides.
"Over half of Northern Ireland's wildlife lives in our seas and yet only four per cent is protected."
Malachy Campbell, Policy Officer, WWF Northern Ireland
Related links
PDF files
To view and print PDF files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free of charge from the Adobe website. For further information, visit our help page.
